It was the first BSCC Time Trial of the year and it was on the same course as the last one of 2020, a short one, the K4/5 in Gaydon. Entries were restricted to 45 due to the light and as I signed in I was told I only just made the cut as it was over-subscribed.
The weather was in complete contract to last September when it was cool and raining. Yesterday it was 21 degrees, blue skies and light breezes; beautiful.
I signed in early to give myself enough time to re-introduce myself to riding a TT bike which feels quite weird when you first start. It didn’t take long to feel reasonably comfortable on it though and all seemed okay.
Last year my time was 12:46 at an average of 23.5 mph. I remember being disappointed as I had wanted to beat my best ever average speed for a TT of 24 mph – which I had set in 2011 at the Rugby Open 10 mile TT. With the K4/5 course only being 5 miles long, it seemed my best chance to beat that speed. So the question was, could I beat 24 mph this time?
It was nice to see familiar faces at the sign in. I showed my TLI (The League International) membership card and paid my £2. BSCC have switched from running TTs under the auspices of CTT to TLI this year so I am now a member of British Cycling, British Masters and The League International!
I don’t have a skin suit but I’d bought a new club jersey one size smaller and the race fit (Warwick Lanterne Rouge being my club) to hopefully be more aero. I got kitted up in the car and struggled with pinning the number on. Pins kept popping off when I moved. I had to take my shirt off 3-4 times until I got it right.
I warmed up and then moseyed up to the start line and got in line. 5, 4, 3, 2 , 1 and off. The road rises from the start a few hundred yards to the mini roundabout where you take a left towards Kineton and I pushed hard to this point and relaxed slightly as the road dropped down a bit.
Roy, my coach, had suggested aiming for a power figure of 300W, but although I felt I was working hard, each time I glanced at my Garmin the power was lower than I expected and I was nearer 285W. My average speed was looking good though and I was going along quite well.
The course is an out-and-back one and we turn at the roundabout as you enter Kineton outskirts. So, off the power and take the roundabout as fast as you dare, which isn’t as fast for me as it would be on a road bike. Then kick hard to get back up to speed and settle in for the painful second half.
I was feeling the strain now. My average speed maxed at about 25.5 mph and then started to dip. Suddenly I felt there was something wrong. Had I punctured? Were my brakes sticking? It felt like I was pedalling through treacle. With about half a mile to go, I actually stopped pedalling as I thought I had a flat. I glanced down and all seemed ok so I got back on it. I think it must have just been the 4% gradient and fatigue that had made me think something was up.
The last few hundred yards are a cruel incline at the end of a TT, even if not much in normal riding. I pushed hard to the line and stopped the clock at 12:17, a 29 second improvement on last year. My average power was 277W which was much lower than I’d hoped – I’d done 30 minutes at 291W on my road bike a week ago – but I’m putting that down to not having ridden in the TT position for 6 months.
My average speed was 24.4 mph so I had achieved my objective for the event, even if my power was disappointing. But as Roy says, it is time from A to B that counts, not what power you have put out.
Conditions had helped of course and new Club Record times were set in both the men’s and the ladies classes, so congratulations to Luke Norris (no relation) and Naomi de Pennington.
My next challenge is to hit 24 mph average for a 10 mile or longer TT. Onwards and upwards.